Improvement in car-couplings



j. H. BURRELL, 1r.

Car-Couplings. r N0. 146,650.v Y Patented l-an.20.1874.

i N i i y l i JOHN H. BURRELL, JR., OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIG'NOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO FRANK D. HOWELL, OF SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT 1N CAR-coutumes.

Specification forming partof Letters Patent No. 146,650, dated January 20, 1874; application liled July 19, 1873.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. BURRELL, Jr., of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improved Automatic Coupling for Railroad-Gars, of which the following is a specification:

The nature of my invention consists in combinin g, with a draw-bar of a railroad-car, a seg- 1 ment drop or latch for holding the connectin link, said segment drop being hung at the extreme front of the draw-bar by a pivot, which passes through the center of the circle of which the drop forms a segment; the curved part of the drop forms a buttress, against which the link pulls in drawing the car. The object is to produce a coupling which will be self-acting, strong, and easily detached, when desired.

Figure l shows in plan two draw-bars with my invention attached. Fig. 2 shows one of t-he draw-bars in elevation, and one in vertical section. 3 shows one of the drops in eley Vation.

Let B D, Fi l and 2, represent the draw- 'bars. Into the upper part of these draw-bars I place the drops O,which are pivoted at E, as shown in Fig. 2. D is the coupling-link, made in the ordinarymanner. The drops() arefree to move in a yer-tical slot made in the draw-bars for erted on the coupling=link D will throw it up; yet, when it is desirable to uncouple the cars, a moderate degree of force applied to the ring H will draw it up, and thus free the couplin link. The upper part of the segmental drop O is formed as shown so that it may be raised into the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and remain in that position until put down by the operator, or by the shock. of the next ear.

By this arrangement the brakeman need not wait until the link iswithdrawn in uncoupling, as the drop will remain up, leaving the link free to withdraw at any time. Again, the device is self-coupling in either case-t. e., whether the drop is up (in which caseit will be throwndown by the shock of the car) or down, (in which oase the entering link will lift it, and it will fall by its own weight.)

rlhe recess E', Fig. 2, serves to hold the outer end ofthe link from falling when one end only is in a draw-bar, thus holding the u nengaged end in position for entering the mouth of the draw-bar of the next car.

I claim as my invention- The combination of the draw-bar B and link D with the segmental holdin gdrop C, said drop being so made and hung that if turned up in a vertical position it will remain so until the concussion of the drawheads shall throw it down and thus couple the cars, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

JOHN H. BURRELL, JR.. lVitnesses:

FRANK Gf. PARKER, WILLIAM EDsoN. 

